Southbank3006’s “why” is changing

Business leadership expert Simon Sinek argues that successful organisations inspire action by communicating their purpose or “why”.

In October of 2021, four Southbankers gathered to form a new community organisation – Southbank3006 – born from shared values, integrity and belief in Southbank’s tremendous potential. We were unified in the “why” behind our organisation: to build community, improve liveability and advocate for all Southbankers without personal agenda or gain.

As we approach our five-year anniversary, it’s exciting to see how far Southbank has come and how Southbank3006 contributed to that growth. Our first meeting was between lockdowns, outside and socially distanced; a time when the proximity of living in Australia’s most densely populated community was extremely stressful.

Consider social distancing properly when the only method to go in and out of your apartment building requires travelling in an elevator. There was a very limited online community for Southbankers, one or two Facebook pages at most. People were starved for connection, but it was difficult to create momentum with recurring lockdowns.

Coming out of the COVID years was like starting up a rusty machine, but, with time, the city and its people slowly emerged from chrysalis and Southbank3006 worked tirelessly to connect the community in groundbreaking ways.

We created Southbank’s first community celebration, A Very Merry Friend-mas, an event held for the last three years that inspired others to follow. We held community forums to discuss bike safety, impacts of artificial light on the environment, Southbank’s First Nations’ history and awareness, coffee socials, traffic management, pedestrian safety, owners’ corporation reform and more.

We held forums for the community to interact directly with candidates in state and federal elections and with the Lord Mayor. We advocated with city, state and federal politicians to get livestock trucks back in the tunnel, efforts that resulted in a trial that began last January. We spearheaded conversion of the ACCA granitic sand forecourt into a park, resulting in 950 square metres of greenspace to be completed in 2026.

Our advocacy with the City of Melbourne has brought a fresh and different approach to tackling challenges affecting livability and community development in Southbank. We’ve actively advocated on issues ranging from low traffic neighbourhoods, redefining open space, community safety, integration of destinations like the promenade and the arts precincts into the neighbourhood to advocacy about strata living reforms, including the impacts of short stay rentals on community cohesion in vertical living.

Southbank3006 has consistently proven to city, state and federal leaders that our solutions-focused, thoughtful input and ideas are worthy of serious consideration, earning our organisation the reputation of a respected collaborator.

Greater than these individual achievements, is the ripple effect of our “why” on the greater whole. Today, Southbank has a thriving network of social groups for all ages, an online community of thousands actively engaged in connecting and caring for our community, and multiple entities engaged in working to improve Southbank.

This evolution is allowing us to reexamine our “why” and ensure it is in alignment with what is best for Southbank’s changing community and environment. We are excited about stepping into our five-year anniversary with new talent, energy, focus and contributions to Southbank.

Watch this space for exciting developments and join for free at southbank3006.com to receive updates first. •